Jackson City accepts AARP grant to run ADU design contest; winning plans to be pre‑approved

Jackson City approved a budget amendment to accept a grant from AARP to run an accessory dwelling unit design contest and to fund prizes for winning designs, city officials said during the meeting.

City staff described the AARP program as a national effort to produce pre‑approved ADU (accessory dwelling unit) plans that make it easier for residents — including older adults — to build small, accessible units on single‑family lots. “This is something that AARP does to help — they run this program where they’re very passionate about finding ways for senior citizens to better age in place, stay in their home,” said Speaker 5, a staff member, explaining the grant’s purpose.

The nut of the program, staff said, is that the contest will produce downloadable, pre‑approved plans that homeowners can use without going through the city’s standard design review process. “The endgame of the grant is, we give out these stipends for designs, and then what we would have is pre‑approved plans for anybody who wants to build a…granny flat,” Speaker 5 said. Speaker 6 asked, “Cool. Running the contest, so what is the endgame?” and Speaker 5 reiterated that winning designs would be uploaded to the city website so “anybody in the city could use” them.

Staff emphasized that the plans will be designed to be accessible for older residents as part of AARP’s guidelines, but noted that any resident may use a winning design. “Part of the design contest requirements will be that your home will have to be accessible for senior citizens,” Speaker 5 said. The transcript does not specify the dollar amount of the AARP grant or the total prize funding; the amendment was identified only as a grant to run the contest and fund stipends.

A motion to approve the budget amendment accepting the AARP grant carried. The transcript records the motion, a second and the chair asking “All in favor say aye,” followed by “Motion passes.” The transcript does not name the mover or seconder, nor does it state a vote tally by name.

City staff said they plan to launch the contest within a couple of weeks and that the budget amendment covers prize money only. The city will post the winning designs on its website for public download; the transcript indicates that the city will “stamp” approved plans so they do not require separate design review when used.

The budget amendment passed; staff did not provide a grant amount on the record during this meeting, and the motion did not record an itemized funding breakdown in the transcript.

For now, the next steps are launching the contest and posting the winning, pre‑approved plans online. The city did not announce a timeline for when plans would be available for download or whether additional city funding would be needed to support implementation beyond prize stipends.